Wrong side of history: Elon falls in OT as W. Carolina ends three-year losing streak in league play

By Adam Smith / Times-News

Published: Sunday, October 27, 2013 at 12:22 AM.

CULLOWHEE — After plowing forward into the interior of the line and stumbling to the field turf, Elon defensive tackle Dustin Ruff didn’t need to turn around or even bother with a glance to realize what happened next.

Western Carolina’s game-winning field goal was sailing through the uprights.

Elon was landing on the ignominious side of Southern Conference football history.

And the fans were pouring out of the Whitmire Stadium bleachers, rushing into a swarm of humanity to celebrate a 27-24 comeback victory on homecoming, the long-awaited end of an excruciating streak that required more than three years of losing and overtime on Saturday put to rest.

“Off the crowd’s reaction, I knew he made it,” Ruff said. “After that I just took it on to the field house.”

Richard Sigmon’s 39-yard field goal in overtime sent Ruff and his Elon teammates walking away from the horde of happy bodies storming the field and then processing the substantial meaning involved — Western Carolina’s 26-game losing skid in the league and 33-game slide against Division I opponents was finished.

Before Saturday, before the sun set behind the mountainous backdrop here and before Western Carolina quarterback Troy Mitchell’s scrambling magic produced an overtime-forcing touchdown pass with 9.6 seconds remaining in regulation, the date was Oct. 2, 2010, the last time the Catamounts defeated a team in the Southern Conference — or Division I, for that matter.

That Elon became the victim that stopped the longest drought in all of NCAA football on the Division I level left coolers tossed and tears shed in the visiting locker room that housed the Phoenix.

“Nobody wants to be that team,” Ruff said.

“Pretty awful,” Elon quarterback Mike Quinn said. “It’s tough to have this burden on you. It’s tough not only for our seniors who are leaving this year, but it’s tough for the players who came before us.

“Everyone’s upset. The pain’s there and the pain’s real for all of us.”

Mitchell’s 6-yard pass to Karnorris Benson tied the score 24-24 and brought overtime. Elon had the ball first, went nowhere — actually backward 2 yards — and John Gallagher missed a field-goal attempt from 44 yards, the low snap and the errant kick punctuating another points-starved second half for the Phoenix (2-7 overall, 1-4 Southern Conference).

Western Carolina (2-7, 1-4) took possession and recouped field position lost on an illegal blocking penalty with Mitchell’s 13-yard connection to Benson (six catches, 129 yards, two touchdowns). Two plays later, the Catamounts turned to Sigmon, who delivered the game-winning kick.

“Thank you, Jesus,” Western Carolina coach Mark Speir said of his immediate reaction.

“Give Western a lot of credit,” Elon coach Jason Swepson said. “They had a mountain to climb. They had all that history they had to overcome, and they overcame it. They kept fighting. Good for them. That’s what college football is all about.”

With Quinn (20 of 36, 326 passing yards, three touchdowns) hitting Andre Davis and Rasaun Rorie and the receivers racing away for big-play scores of 64 and 47 yards, Elon led 21-10 at halftime. That margin stayed in place until late in the third quarter.

When Gallagher, the true freshman, supplied a surprising season-long field goal of 48 yards, Elon was ahead 24-17 with 3½ minutes left in regulation.

Then Mitchell (18 of 31, 192 passing yards, 10 rushes for 61 yards) seized the moment. The Western Carolina quarterback had been benched for six series in the first half, but bounced back in the second half. And the 88-yard touchdown drive he directed to force overtime became something to behold.

Twice on third downs deep in Catamounts territory, Mitchell circled away from danger, a pair of scrambling, how-did-he-do-that 360s behind the line of scrimmage that bought more room and facilitated completions of 10 and 22 yards.

“It was like trying to catch Mike Vick out there,” Ruff said.

He passed to Lewis five times out of the backfield, then did the same to running back Darius Ramsey, whose 15-yard gain put Western Carolina at the Elon 5-yard line with 24 seconds left in regulation.

A week prior, with Mitchell woozy on the sidelines, the Catamounts reached Wofford’s 5 in the final seconds and came up empty at the goal line on two passes, either of which could have won the game, cemented an upset and halted the record losing skid.

Saturday was different, even with Willie Police’s unpressured drop of a would-be touchdown on first down. A pass interference penalty on Elon cornerback David Wood, locked up 1-on-1 with the taller Benson, gave the Catamounts fresh downs and Mitchell converted following his near-disastrous mishandling of a snap.

Mitchell fell on the fumble and after Western Carolina used its final timeout with 12.6 seconds showing, he went to Benson in the corner of the end zone. Benson shed Wood with a shove, nothing was called, and things were tied 24-24 following Sigmon’s extra-point.

“I thought it was a push-off down there,” Swepson said. “I think everyone in the stadium saw it. But it didn’t come down to that. A couple of plays before, the kid dropped one in the end zone.

“We had our opportunities to win the football game. Not only this one, but a couple others. We’re just not making enough plays.”

Quinn’s lost fumble in the third quarter pulled the plug on a promising Elon possession and signified a momentum change. On third-and-2, he gained 4 yards to the Catamounts’ 24 but coughed up the ball when hit by linebacker Christon Gill.

Elon led 21-10 at that juncture and appeared poised to move further ahead. Western Carolina cashed in on the fumble on its ensuing series. Mitchell rolled out and found Michael Helms for an 8-yard touchdown, pulling the Catamounts within 21-17.

In the fourth quarter, cornerback Ed Burns’ interception of a deep ball near the goal and a fourth-and-3 stop with Western Carolina at the Elon 37 hinted at perhaps a clutch finish for the Phoenix defense.

“I thought after those plays we were going toward the right direction,” Ruff said.

■EXTRA POINTS: Kansas’ 24-game losing streak in the Big 12 now is the longest winless skid within a league in Division I football. … Including Saturday, Elon has scored no touchdowns and just nine points in the second halves of its last five games. Elon has been outscored 83-9 in second halves during that span. … Davis, the Elon sophomore, went for a career-high 162 yards on six receptions. Rorie added six catches for 87 yards for the Phoenix. … Quinn, the junior, surpassed 300 yards for the first time in his college career. He has completed 207 straight passes without an interception, a Southern Conference record. … It was Elon’s first overtime game since 2011 and Western Carolina’s first overtime victory since 1998. … Elon freshman offensive lineman O’Shane Morris didn’t return after suffering a neck injury in the second quarter. … Elon had won seven straight meetings in this series. Previously, Western Carolina’s last victory against the Phoenix was in 2005. … Both Elon and Western Carolina have open dates on their schedules next weekend.

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CULLOWHEE — After plowing forward into the interior of the line and stumbling to the field turf, Elon defensive tackle Dustin Ruff didn’t need to turn around or even bother with a glance to realize what happened next.

Western Carolina’s game-winning field goal was sailing through the uprights.

Elon was landing on the ignominious side of Southern Conference football history.

And the fans were pouring out of the Whitmire Stadium bleachers, rushing into a swarm of humanity to celebrate a 27-24 comeback victory on homecoming, the long-awaited end of an excruciating streak that required more than three years of losing and overtime on Saturday put to rest.

“Off the crowd’s reaction, I knew he made it,” Ruff said. “After that I just took it on to the field house.”

Richard Sigmon’s 39-yard field goal in overtime sent Ruff and his Elon teammates walking away from the horde of happy bodies storming the field and then processing the substantial meaning involved — Western Carolina’s 26-game losing skid in the league and 33-game slide against Division I opponents was finished.

Before Saturday, before the sun set behind the mountainous backdrop here and before Western Carolina quarterback Troy Mitchell’s scrambling magic produced an overtime-forcing touchdown pass with 9.6 seconds remaining in regulation, the date was Oct. 2, 2010, the last time the Catamounts defeated a team in the Southern Conference — or Division I, for that matter.

That Elon became the victim that stopped the longest drought in all of NCAA football on the Division I level left coolers tossed and tears shed in the visiting locker room that housed the Phoenix.

“Nobody wants to be that team,” Ruff said.

“Pretty awful,” Elon quarterback Mike Quinn said. “It’s tough to have this burden on you. It’s tough not only for our seniors who are leaving this year, but it’s tough for the players who came before us.

“Everyone’s upset. The pain’s there and the pain’s real for all of us.”

Mitchell’s 6-yard pass to Karnorris Benson tied the score 24-24 and brought overtime. Elon had the ball first, went nowhere — actually backward 2 yards — and John Gallagher missed a field-goal attempt from 44 yards, the low snap and the errant kick punctuating another points-starved second half for the Phoenix (2-7 overall, 1-4 Southern Conference).

Western Carolina (2-7, 1-4) took possession and recouped field position lost on an illegal blocking penalty with Mitchell’s 13-yard connection to Benson (six catches, 129 yards, two touchdowns). Two plays later, the Catamounts turned to Sigmon, who delivered the game-winning kick.

“Thank you, Jesus,” Western Carolina coach Mark Speir said of his immediate reaction.

“Give Western a lot of credit,” Elon coach Jason Swepson said. “They had a mountain to climb. They had all that history they had to overcome, and they overcame it. They kept fighting. Good for them. That’s what college football is all about.”

With Quinn (20 of 36, 326 passing yards, three touchdowns) hitting Andre Davis and Rasaun Rorie and the receivers racing away for big-play scores of 64 and 47 yards, Elon led 21-10 at halftime. That margin stayed in place until late in the third quarter.

When Gallagher, the true freshman, supplied a surprising season-long field goal of 48 yards, Elon was ahead 24-17 with 3½ minutes left in regulation.

Then Mitchell (18 of 31, 192 passing yards, 10 rushes for 61 yards) seized the moment. The Western Carolina quarterback had been benched for six series in the first half, but bounced back in the second half. And the 88-yard touchdown drive he directed to force overtime became something to behold.

Twice on third downs deep in Catamounts territory, Mitchell circled away from danger, a pair of scrambling, how-did-he-do-that 360s behind the line of scrimmage that bought more room and facilitated completions of 10 and 22 yards.

“It was like trying to catch Mike Vick out there,” Ruff said.

He passed to Lewis five times out of the backfield, then did the same to running back Darius Ramsey, whose 15-yard gain put Western Carolina at the Elon 5-yard line with 24 seconds left in regulation.

A week prior, with Mitchell woozy on the sidelines, the Catamounts reached Wofford’s 5 in the final seconds and came up empty at the goal line on two passes, either of which could have won the game, cemented an upset and halted the record losing skid.

Saturday was different, even with Willie Police’s unpressured drop of a would-be touchdown on first down. A pass interference penalty on Elon cornerback David Wood, locked up 1-on-1 with the taller Benson, gave the Catamounts fresh downs and Mitchell converted following his near-disastrous mishandling of a snap.

Mitchell fell on the fumble and after Western Carolina used its final timeout with 12.6 seconds showing, he went to Benson in the corner of the end zone. Benson shed Wood with a shove, nothing was called, and things were tied 24-24 following Sigmon’s extra-point.

“I thought it was a push-off down there,” Swepson said. “I think everyone in the stadium saw it. But it didn’t come down to that. A couple of plays before, the kid dropped one in the end zone.

“We had our opportunities to win the football game. Not only this one, but a couple others. We’re just not making enough plays.”

Quinn’s lost fumble in the third quarter pulled the plug on a promising Elon possession and signified a momentum change. On third-and-2, he gained 4 yards to the Catamounts’ 24 but coughed up the ball when hit by linebacker Christon Gill.

Elon led 21-10 at that juncture and appeared poised to move further ahead. Western Carolina cashed in on the fumble on its ensuing series. Mitchell rolled out and found Michael Helms for an 8-yard touchdown, pulling the Catamounts within 21-17.

In the fourth quarter, cornerback Ed Burns’ interception of a deep ball near the goal and a fourth-and-3 stop with Western Carolina at the Elon 37 hinted at perhaps a clutch finish for the Phoenix defense.

“I thought after those plays we were going toward the right direction,” Ruff said.

■EXTRA POINTS: Kansas’ 24-game losing streak in the Big 12 now is the longest winless skid within a league in Division I football. … Including Saturday, Elon has scored no touchdowns and just nine points in the second halves of its last five games. Elon has been outscored 83-9 in second halves during that span. … Davis, the Elon sophomore, went for a career-high 162 yards on six receptions. Rorie added six catches for 87 yards for the Phoenix. … Quinn, the junior, surpassed 300 yards for the first time in his college career. He has completed 207 straight passes without an interception, a Southern Conference record. … It was Elon’s first overtime game since 2011 and Western Carolina’s first overtime victory since 1998. … Elon freshman offensive lineman O’Shane Morris didn’t return after suffering a neck injury in the second quarter. … Elon had won seven straight meetings in this series. Previously, Western Carolina’s last victory against the Phoenix was in 2005. … Both Elon and Western Carolina have open dates on their schedules next weekend.